This is kind of a weird chapter, I'm sorry. I've been busy and it didn't come out as right as it should..
And I know you probably hate to hear this buuuuttt...
Character Death.
'Kate? McGee? Joining me for a drink?' Tony asked, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
They had just finished the case and typed up their reports and Tony wanted something to numb his headache before going home to sleep.
'Yes,' Kate replied, standing up quickly. 'I don't think I can sit here any longer without going insane. Let me go ask Abby okay?'
She walked off without waiting for an answer, not that Tony would have stopped her anyway.
It'd been about three months since she was out of the hospital, and Tony smiled. She and Hailey had moved in with him, his apartment was bigger and he was so happy.
He loved them both. Gibbs had gave them his 'lecture' about breaking one of his rules, but Tony knew that he didn't really mean it.
Tony could tell that Gibbs was happy for them, maybe a little guilty over what had happened to Kate, but happy none-the-less.
'Probie?' Tony asked, turning to McGee.
'I don't know, Tony. I'm sort of busy and,' he gestured to all the paperwork on his desk.
'It's almost one in the morning McGeek! Come and have a drink with us.'
McGee sighed and nodded, picking up his coat, and shutting down his computer.
'Boss?' Tony asked, turning to Gibbs' desk.
'Go on,' Gibbs said, not looking up from the work on his desk.
Tony nodded, and followed after McGee to the elevator.
'So here's to another case finally over,' Tony said, tipping back the shot before anyone else had raised theirs.
'That's the eighth time you've said that toast, Tony,' Abby said, drinking down the alcohol.
'I think you've had a little too much to drink DiNozzo,' McGee said, pulling the alcohol away from Tony.
'Come on Probie. This is me were talking about. Can I ever really have too much to drink?' he slurred the last couple of words and McGee raised an eyebrow.
'Okay. So I may have had a few too many. But I've been working all day! You've had a bit too much as well, Probie.'
Abby laughed, and pushed a glass of water in front of both him and McGee.
'I agree. McGee,' she warned, and McGee faced her, sheepishly.
'Drink this first. Then,' she added when Tony turned pleading eyes on her, 'you can have some more alcohol.'
Tony nodded and gulped down the water greedily, and Kate laughed.
She'd only had one or two, enough to make her head a little fuzzy, but that's all she wanted.
Besides, she needed to be home soon to pick up Hailey from the sitter.
Kate looked at her watch and realised that soon, really meant now.
'I'm sorry to cut this short, guys, but I have to go pick up Hailey,' she said, standing up from the bar stool.
'Already Kate? We've only been here,' Tony checked his watch, 'wow, three hours.'
Kate smiled.
'You can stay if you want. I'll just go home and settle her down.'
'No, no, it's fine. I'll come with you,' he said, standing up and leaning on McGee's shoulder. 'Whoa, maybe I did have a few too many.'
'Can you drop us off at NCIS?' McGee asked, gesturing towards Abby.
'Are you sure? You don't have to come if you would rather stay,' Kate replied, looking between them.
'I've got a long day tomorrow,' Abby said, standing up and grabbing her bag. 'My car's at the office.'
'Same with me,' McGee said.
'You're not driving,' Abby said, shaking her head. 'I'll give you a lift home.'
McGee nodded and Tony wrapped his arm around his shoulder, and they helped each other to the door.
Kate vaguely heard a mention of bumper stickers and shook her head, smiling.
'Katie, Katie, Katie,' DiNozzo sung, sitting in the passenger seat, tapping on the window.
'I'm trying to drive, please, Tony,' Kate said, but she had to smile.
Abby leaned forward, and smacked Tony on the back of the head.
'Gibbs?' he demanded, jumping up straight.
Abby laughed, and settled back in the seat, watching DiNozzo dance in front of her.
She closed her eyes but opened them when there was a loud bang, and the car stopped.
She turned to look at McGee and saw that his eyes were closed, leaning against the back of the seat.
'Are we here already?' she asked, looking around.
'No. But I think one of the tyres blew,' Kate replied, looking over at Tony. He had passed out against the window, his mouth open.
She smiled and opened the door.
'Need any help?' Abby asked, un-doing her seatbelt.
'No. There's a car coming up behind us. This car doesn't have a spare, but they might,' Kate replied, shutting the door.
She waved the car, and was glad when it started to pull over.
'Need some help, miss?' someone yelled through the window, and Kate nodded.
'Yes. Our tyre blew, you wouldn't happen to have a spare would you? It's a company car, is all...' she trailed off when the guy stepped out.
He seemed vaguely familiar but she shook her head.
Kate raised her hand to her eyes, as another car came round the corner; it's headlights on high beam.
She frowned when the car didn't seem to be slowing down and she only narrowly missed being hit before she jumped sideways.
Her chest shook as she tried to breathe, but she jumped when she heard a loud smash.
Kate turned her head and watched incredulously as their car flew straight ahead, and over the edge of the lookout.
Kate could vaguely hear the guy beside her yelling, but she blinked a few times and pulled out her phone.
She only knew one person she could call.
Gibbs sighed and dropped his head into his hands.
Everyone else had gone out for drinks, seeing as the case was over, but he chose to stay.
After cases like this one, where there were children involved, sometimes he just needed to stop, and then get drunk.
Gibbs rubbed his eyes and looked down at his computer
He jumped when he felt his phone ring in his pocket.
He frowned at the caller ID, Kate. It had been about three months since Kate had gotten out of the hospital, and Gibbs still felt a little guilty sometimes when she winced if something hit her in the chest.
He'd lectured both Kate and DiNozzo on breaking his rule, but he was happy for them. They were happy together, and that was all he really cared about.
He got a nervous chill, looking down at her name on his phone, and worried that something had happened to her.
'Kate?'
'Gibbs...'
Gibbs paused at Kate's tone, she sounded so... broken.
'There's... accident... hurt...' Gibbs frowned at the sound of someone yelling in the background and started walking towards the elevator, grabbing his keys.
'You're breaking up, where are you?' he demanded, his voice tight.
It took a couple of tries before Gibbs understood where they were; at the lookout about ten minutes away, before the reception was so bad that Kate hung up.
Gibbs swallowed. If anyone was hurt. He couldn't go through this again.
Not after all that had happened to Kate.
It didn't seem possible that something could have happened to his team again.
But something had. And it had terrified Kate.
Gibbs slammed on the brakes and the car skidded to a stop.
Police lights were flashing, and there were ambulances and police men taping off the scene.
His eyes widened as he got out and walked over to Kate.
Kate stared up at him with a mixture of horror and un-usual acceptance.
Gibbs's breathing got shorter as Kate opened her mouth.
'McGee is dead...' she trailed off, and Gibbs heart skipped a beat.
McGee was dead. Gibbs tasted it in his mouth, moved it around his tongue but every time he said it, his head hurt more and his heart thumped louder in his chest.
McGee wasn't dead...
McGee couldn't be dead...
McGee was dead?
He walked slowly, unnervingly slowly towards the edge of the lookout, and held up his badge as an officer ran over to him.
He looked down quickly, and bit his lip hard, until he tasted the sharp coppery tang of blood.
The car was laying upside down, a few metres below.
There were dark fragments covering it and the ground around it, and Gibbs felt sick when he realised it was blood.
The car was covered in white and Gibbs had a stupid thought that it was snow, never mind that it didn't snow there at all, before he realised it was the shattered windshield.
'The whole passenger sides crushed in,' someone yelled and Gibbs shook his head.
He could hear Kate's unearthly screams behind him, for someone to help them, get them out of the fucking car, and Kate swore, the sound so raw, so un-Kate, that it chilled Gibbs to the bone.
The whirring of the mechanical drill interrupted his thoughts and turned back to the car below.
Gibbs watched as they cut through the metal and his first thought was how much that was going to cost to replace.
Gibbs swallowed hard and walked back over to Kate.
Kate needed him right now.
No.
Kate needed her best friend and her boyfriend right now.
Boyfriend... Gibbs stopped. It was strange referring to DiNozzo as Kate's boyfriend. But that was what he was.
Gibbs shook his head.
They were both trapped in the car with McGee.
McGee.
Gibbs sighed.
He was so tired. He didn't know what to do. McGee was dead...
Gibbs looked up as an officer walked towards them.
He couldn't hear anything other than the whirring of the drill and Kate's screams beside him.
The officer's lips moved but all Gibbs made out was a name, and an I'm sorry before Kate had collapsed beside him.
Gibbs' head was aching, his whole body was tired and now he'd lost two team members, while the third was still trapped underneath.
He sat down beside Kate and reached out to offer her some comfort, before drawing his hand away.
She didn't want his comfort, she wanted them, and now one would never come back for her...
Gibbs was bone tired; it wasn't like him to be so calm, so noiseless when half his team was dead.
But he couldn't do anything?
He had no way to help them, no way to save them, no way to bring them back.
All he could do was sit with Kate, one member of his team who he knew was alive, and wait.
Wait for something, wait for anything, but he didn't think it was coming.
He wasn't sure if it was coming, but he didn't know.
Gibbs didn't know anything right now, except that he had lost another family.
A body was brought up, inside a body bag and Kate's screams subsided for a minute, her breathing shallow and her body started shaking.
Gibbs reached out a second time to pull her into his arms, but stopped short.
Her eyes stared accusingly towards the edge of the lookout, to the body being wheeled towards the ambulance.
Gibbs understood.
She was angry. She was angry as hell.
Gibbs wasn't angry.
Kate's screams got louder.
She turned to him, her eyes pleading.
He realised that he must look guilty sitting there doing nothing.
She probably thought that he didnt care.
Gibbs shrugged. He knew he was being a bastard, but there was nothing he could do.
He did care.
He cared more than anything.
He reached out and caringly drew circles on her back, soothingly.
He wished against hope that it wasn't his team down there.
With two dead...
He wasn't not sure that he could fix this.
He can't fix this.
He wasn't sure if he could beat it.
He doesn't want to beat it.
He promised himself when his team was assembled that he would protect them.
Not like he protected his wife and daughter; but really protect them. Keep them away from all the harm. Hard to do when you're an NCIS agent, but he'd made it work.
It'd worked so far, with the exception of Kate being shot.
But a car accident?
He didn't know how he was supposed to have stopped it.
But he should have. He should have gone with them. He should have been driving. He should have kept them at NCIS for the night. He should have done anything.
Gibbs should have done something.
But he didn't.
And now they were dead.
Gibbs sighed and dropped his head into his hands.